anytime you've got 36 united states senators who voted down sandy relief a couple days ago, you know that something has fundamentally changed about the way that republicans talk about government. so i think it's too early to say that they're dead, but all the things dana points to are good signs and signs of some kind of sanity seeping in. >> and dana, maybe it's all in a name. because i think what continues on for sure is this conservative domination particularly in republican primaries. i mean, here you've got mitch mcconnell being threatened now in kentucky and next year's election from the right. >> right. and the tea party's never really been an organized political force. and i'us shorthand for the r ting the pay right now. and as i point out in the column, that force really isn't going anywhere because of the redistricting, because of the way things are structured in the house. and because of this primary system. we also have saxby chambliss bowing out rather than face a primary challenge. the element of the party is going to be dominant for some time to come. is the tea party